


Escaping Despair

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Abuse, Action, Additional Tags/Relationships/Characters Will Be Added, Apocalypse, Blood and Injury, Broken nose, Car Chases, Class 78 Fall In Despair, Despair Era (Dangan Ronpa), Future Foundation (Dangan Ronpa), Mukuro Gets Help, Multi, Remnants of Despair Class 78, Self-Hatred, Verbal Abuse, car crash, self-deprecation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:42:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28070364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: I never thought about the morality of what I did until now, because morality didn't matter when it came to Junko and her wants. But that doesn't matter now and I know what I must do.After Mukuro Ikusaba is "accidentally" kidnapped by Peko Pekoyama and Ibuki Mioda, she has to learn the error of her actions and help collect the other Despairs of class 78 to end the Tragedy.
Relationships: Ikusaba Mukuro & Nanami Chiaki, Ikusaba Mukuro/Naegi Makoto, Mioda Ibuki & Pekoyama Peko, Mioda Ibuki/Tsumiki Mikan
Comments: 11
Kudos: 23





	1. Ultimate Despair Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading here are a few notes on this AU:  
> The class of 78 joined Junko and became Ultimate Despair.  
> The class of 77-b was subjected to the killing school life.  
> Chiaki Nanami is just a program in the Neo World Program but will make an appearance.  
> Neither Chisa Yukizome nor Kazuo Tengan is brainwashed.
> 
> And that is all I can think of. If you have questions I'll answer them, unless it will come up in a future chapter.

Mukuro Ikusaba-

The room was buzzing with high energy as flashes of light stung my eyes. Despite how popular this conference was the only available place nearby that would block out the light snowfall was what looked like a large run-down shack. The walls and floors were made of warped wood and have very little in the way of decoration. The room itself is packed full of people to the point where a heater isn’t needed with more waiting outside. Beside the front entrance, there were two side doors that I kept watch over.

Makoto was dressed in a black two-piece suit with his hair combed back. He was standing at the podium, a camera in his face with a group of clapping disciples behind it. We were at one of the only intact buildings in Kyoto doing a “press conference” of sorts. It's for all that we’ve accomplished this year and what we expect our followers to do next. 

I never found much interest in publicity like this. Junko saw this as further encouragement for despair, a lust that must be fed to keep it alive as she phrased it. While the concept made sense, how a press conference would help, I wasn’t quite sure. Not to say that I would ever question Junko or her decisions. Of course not. Out of the two of us, she was always the more intelligent one. She knew the best way to go about despair. To ruin the world. She was even able to bring the kindest people down, how was I to question that.

Makoto continues to feverishly preach, I continue to stand next to him. After an apparent, great line the crowd burst into more cheers, Makoto pauses and looks back at me for a split moment. He flashes a smile like it's the most natural thing he could do, though it's only a shadow of what it used to be. I remember the first time I saw it. It was a lot kinder back at Hopes Peak, and more genuine. You could always see the smile in his eyes, that's how I could tell that first time that he meant it. Now his eyes swirl with something vaguely reminiscent of what I see in our other classmates’, a hopeless pit where everything good goes to die.

The first time I saw it, in Junko, it scared me, but now it's as common as seeing a destroyed building. I just learn to live with it. 

Makoto speaks about the destruction of the German economy, the crowd once again claps, and I fall a little further into despair.

  
  


Peko Pekoyama-

“Woulda at least think they’d give us a better car,” Ibuki grumbles. We’re currently riding down a country road in an old red Honda Civic that had its windows shattered. Ibuki was originally ecstatic at the idea of being able to drive a car after being stuck at a Future Foundation base for so long, well that was until she saw the car.

Future Foundation sent us on our first mission alone to respond to a distress call in Hamamatsu, but the only weapons they gave us were two handguns. I was allowed to bring my bamboo sword that I had with me when we escaped from Hopes Peak, but asides from that we are critically underprepared. 

The snow falls down from the red-tinted sky and looks a little more grey than I remember back when I was a child. The fields are burnt and in the distance, you can see smoke and flames rise like our own personal hell coming straight for us. I start to shiver as we drive down the gravel road at a neck-break speed and try to turn on the heater. But it’s dead.

Ibuki doesn’t seem to mind though. The wind rushes through her half dyed hair and blows in her face kinda detracting from the pout she’s wearing. “I mean like, what if we get into a crazy car chase with a Despair? ,” Ibuki continues. I roll my eyes and focus out of the window. Ibuki starts to mess with the radio, “Then, we’d get our ass kicked in this slow car, oh wait I’m thinking of drag racing. I don’t think they’d drag race with us, where is the music, there's gotta be at least one station, isn’t there a Despair that sings, why isn’t her music on here? Anyway-” Ibuki rambled about Ultimate Despair as she continued to get frustrated by the lack of music. The only channel on is news about all the destruction going on in the world, every station is a new country and a new series of problems.

I never thought it would get this bad, back when the protest started. Actually, I don’t think anyone thought it would, maybe not even Ultimate Despair themselves. The number of events that need to go in their favor. The number of people that needed to ignore it, or that were too ignorant to realize what they were doing. I… I don’t know how we, all of us, could have let this happen. How I didn’t do anything, that I wasn’t quick enough, that I didn’t see the warning signs. Fuyuhiko I- 

“UGHHH, I don’t care if it’s stupid idol pop, I just want music.”

I grimace pushing the off button, “Would you stop, besides I doubt they would send us if they thought Ultimate Despair is behind this. This is only a mild shoot-out. I highly doubt that this is their doing.” 

“I know, but how exciting would that be!” Ibuki threw out one of her arms through the window, “Goin’ head to head with them, and kickin’ their asses! Like in a spy movie! Oh, I wanna be like James Bond.” 

“I’d rather keep my involvement with Ultimate Despair to a minimum.”

She readjusted herself and practically laid on the steering wheel, “Yeah, yeah. Not bein’ serious. I’m just so bored at base y'know. And Juzo keeps yellin’ at me for my music.” 

My eyes roll involuntarily and I lean against one of the broken windows, “Yes, because entertainment is what we should be worried about right now.”

I sat in silence for the rest of the ride while Ibuki talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Eventually, we start seeing broken and burning buildings lining the sky instead of just ash and fields. Then we come across a sign that says “Welcome to Kyoto”. Wait…

"Ibuki,” I say as a group of bikers in long black jackets drive past us nearly hitting our car. 

Ibuki swerves out of the way, “Hey, what the hell,” she yells at the last one and then looks back at me frustrated, “Huh, yo.”

“We’re in the wrong place.” We crossed a few more buildings, one with ‘Kyoto National Museum’ printed on the mostly torn down building. Ibuki looks over and sees the building. Her eyes widen, and she immediately hits the breaks. We both fall forward and hit the dashboard while the car makes an awful screech sound against the pavement, tipping forward slightly before stopping.

“Damn it,” Ibuki then let out an exaggerated sigh, “But that’s like the in the complete opposite direction of Hamamatsu!” 

“Did you look at the map?” 

Ibuki looked up from the wheel and furrowed her eyebrows, “Of course Ibuki did! And I went west like it said”

“West?” I looked at her while she still had her “duh” face on. I took out the map, “It says Hamamtsu is east of Nagoya. Not west.”

She yanked the map from my hand and looked it over again. She threw it in the air and fell back against the seat in a dramatic manner. The map fell on her face and she tore it off, “Fine, fine, we should start… Wait.” 

Over across the street, a group of people was swarming outside a building waiting to get in. It was the only decently intact building around though it seemed to be almost falling apart more so due to aging than the Tragedy, Ibuki didn’t care, in fact, she looked interested.

“Oh my, my, my, I wonder what's going on in there?” Ibuki started to unbuckle her seat belt. I sighed and pulled her back down.

“No, we need to go and do our job.”

“C’mon Peko, we're already late, I’ll just be a minute,” Ibuki ripped her arm out of my reach and jumped out of the car running across the street. 

“Ibuki get back here. Munakata is going to be pissed as it is. We need to go,” but her response was a dismissive wave and she turned back to the building. She started to poke around the outside before seeing something and waving me over. She then wandered down some dirty alleyway with a side door into the building. I huffed out a sigh, grabbed my sword bag, and followed her down to the side door checking to see if my gun was in place.

Mukuro Ikusaba-

The press conference was going as planned. There were no disturbances, no fighting, or attacks. No everything was perfectly calm. Most likely because Owada has been circling the building since before we got here.

Junko might call this boring and do something just to screw up our hard work. I do occasionally find it funny that she is her own worst enemy, the greatest underminer she could have. Though that is after the matter because most of the time when she self-sabotages she's bringing me down with her. Actually, she's been pretty restless lately since things have calmed down, even if it's just barely. I just wish she doesn't do something-

Two thunderous gunshot lights up the room.

I see the bullets even before I hear the sound. I grab Makoto by the waist and shove him on the ground. I kneel and peer over the top of the podium and look for the perpetrator. There’s a small gap in the wall to the left and the muzzle is quickly removed from it. The crowd's screams and people are fighting to get out. I don’t care I just need to-

“Ikusaba,” Owada struts out and overlooks the decreasing panicking crowd.

“I thought you had a watch on the building Owada, what the hell is this?” I ask

Owada brushes me off and picks up Makoto by the arm, “Calm down your tits-”

“Excuse me?” 

Makoto gets in between both of us, "Nevermind that for now, did you see anything?" 

“No one saw anything suspicious except for some chick, well at first...”

Wait she couldn’t have, “Junko?”

“Nah,” Owada tossed a badge at me. It read Future Foundation member Ibuki Mioda, fourth deviation, “We found it next to some car, and then we heard the gun.”

“Ikusaba," Makoto started, "Go look into this for me. I'll be going back for now. We can pick this up later,” He said looking at the almost non-existent crowd.

"Of course." Makoto gave me a parting smile before him and Owada went out through the right door. I headed towards the left door, slinging my M16 rifle around so that I have it at the ready. I push open the door with the muzzle and scan the inside of the room. Boxes line the wall on all sides and the only light comes from the gaps in the wood. There was a handgun on the floor right by where the muzzle was. The room is calm and stale with dust particles floating in the air. I take a breath and a few tentative steps forward when a few boxes move across the room. I ready my gun and aim, but a rustling of boxes comes from behind me. Right when I turn a blur of wood hits me.

The first thing I notice when I wake up is a throbbing pain, and the second is a gun pointed at me. 

The one holding the gun was yelling at the one presumably driving and it only made the splitting pain worse. I caught, “That it was our chance for revenge and you messed me up.” from the girl holding me. They continued and the voice phased out again. 

I didn’t want them to realize that I was awake, so I attempted to slightly move my arm. Both were bound with rope, and with the estimated thickness of it, I couldn’t tear out of it. My legs, unsurprising, were also tied and a gag was around my head. When I opened my left eye I could see the interior of a car and outside a broken window. The sky seems to have darkened into more of a crimson from the bright red of the early morning. We were driving around in a city, presumably still Kyoto and the car was picking up speed.

My two captives were still squabbling with each other and sounded more like two pre-teen girls arguing over a boy than actual members of Future Foundation. It was a disappointment that I had been captured in the first place and now especially by these two. I don’t quite know how I’m going to live down the berating from Junko or through it. She’s going to absolutely hate me.

I needed to get out. My best chance of getting out was probably when we stopped and they were distracted then I could

Pinging came from the back of the car, like bullets bouncing off the back, “What was that?” The one in the front shouted.

The one holding me answered, “Biker with a gun, wait you don’t think it's…”

“Crazy Diamonds! Goddammit, Peko we’re gonna die!” 

“Calm down!” 

If Owada saved me I definitely wasn’t going to live this down. The girl, Peko apparently, shoved me to the other side of the backseat and traded the hand gun she was holding for my M16. She aimed at Owada and started to fire. I attempted to move in a way so that I could kick the gun away but all that did was alert them that I was awake.

“Oh great the scary girls awake now,” yelled the girl in front. 

Peko paused, firing to yell back, “Ibuki stop screaming!”

Ibuki panicked at the increasing bullets hitting the car, a few flew in nearly hitting us. I pulled myself up into a sitting position and rammed myself into Peko sending her into the door and half out the window. I went to shove her again but she kicked me in the jaw. I fell back into the seat and hit the door with my face. Ibuki gripped the wheel and made a sharp turn throwing me onto the floor. 

A few seconds later the engine of a motorcycle grew louder and I heard Owada's voice yell through a broken window, “Pull over!”

Peko answered back with bullets.

I got back up somewhat and was knocked onto the seat in front of me. Something was impacting the car. I looked out and Owada rammed the car a second time. Ibuki sped up while Peko aimed for his tires. A few more bullets came from Owada as he tried to catch back up. 

It did nothing, we kept going down the road. Even when one of the tiers blew Ibuki sped even faster. Every attempt to stop her only encouraged her further.

The road got worse, more potholes occurred making the car bounce and harder to stay still. Owada gave up on his gun, fully focusing on catching up to us. He got to the passenger window and looked worried and frustrated. His teeth grit he looked at Ibuki and yell, “Pull the fuck over! Are you fucking suicidal!”

Suicidal? What is he-

Then I saw it, a bridge. But it was opened due to a passing boat. I started screaming through my gag, but it only encouraged Ibuki to speed up. 

"Ibuki what are you doing!" Peko screeched. Ibuki turned back with a determination and confidence that is rarely seen.

"I don’t know!" 

We were fifty meters from the bridge and quickly approaching. 

Peko took the gun and chucked it at Owada.

Forty meters.

He dodged and yelled at them again.

Thirty meters.

I thrashed in my bounds, Peko buckled up.

Twenty meters.

Owada realized that they were serious and his bike screeched to a halt.

Ten meters.

So this is what true despair feels like, huh?

Zero meters.

The car made a sickening noise as it flew off the road and into the sky.


	2. Fallen Soldier Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After attempting to jump over a bridge Mukuro tries to escape while Ibuki and Peko need to find a way back to future foundation without Mukuro getting away.
> 
> CW: blood, injures, car crash, verbal abuse, self-depreciation.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Mukuro Ikusaba-

The car made a sickening noise as it flew off the road and into the sky.

The second that the wheels left the ground Ibuki’s false confidence melted and she started literally foaming at the mouth. Peko had an intense face as though she was gonna will the car into not tipping over. I was mostly left defenseless with no way to hold onto anything. The car arced over the gap in the bridge and we’re still flying. We start to nose dive and I catch a quick glimpse of Owada at the top of the bridge. He stared at us as though he was more worried about how to explain this then that I was surely going to die. Though I was fine with that, I was never so naive as to think they cared about me. 

The front wheels touched down on the other side of the bridge and continued to roll without flipping. For a split second, I felt relief wash over me, I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. But then the impact bumped me up and I fell back onto the floor. The car starts to swerve and Peko yells for Ibuki to get control. I hear crying, but I’m not sure if it's mine or one of theirs. The car goes sideways and then the last thing I remember is falling onto the roof and metal hitting me in the head. 

When I regain conscience the car is at the bottom of the bridge that’s still open. Blood trickling down my face from where I was hit in the forehead. I stretched out my arms and scratches stung across them. Blood slowly trickled down my forearm pooling at my wrist and dripping. My body aches and the throbbing has worsened. It feels like a jackhammer is banging against my skull and I can feel my pulse through the cuts. I can barely focus on what's going on, my vision blurs. I close my eyes and will myself to focus. I need to cut the rope, first. Find something sharp. 

A piece of the roof ripped and was jutting up, I could use that.

First I took my arms and put them between the metal and spread them enough so that it would only cut the rope. I pulled them back towards my body, the ropes ripped and I could move my arms more freely now. But now without the restriction, the blood loss worsened a bit, but that was a problem for a different time. I needed to get my legs free… I shifted so my legs were positioned similarly to my arms. I pushed my hands into the ground, hissing at the slight cuts, and started lifting myself while moving backward.

“Ah,”, I clamped my mouth shut. The metal sliced my left leg further, blood oozed. I prodded the wound, it wasn’t deep but was long. I clenched my jaw and continued to move, causing one more cut in my right leg, not nearly as bad as the first. Tears started to mix with blood as I tried to stay quiet to not wake the other girls.

The rope snapped.

I cried out a silent joy and crawled out of the window. I attempted to stand using the car as support, but when I took my first step I stumbled over, getting a face-full of concrete. I scowled and pushed myself up on my elbows, wiping the gravel off my face. My body was screaming at me to stop, but I ignored it. I tried to call out Owada but my voice was frail, barely a whisper came out. With luck, he would still be waiting on the other side. That’s all I can really hope for.

The car started to shake slightly, “I... Ibu….ki…” Peko whispered as she started to move to the front seat when she saw the rope on the ground, then me. She gulped and gritted her teeth and looked like she was about to say something, but I didn’t care. My brain stopped and my body took over. I forced my hands to push me up and got on my knees, then I was able to get my feet.

“Wait… Stop… Got… Gu...” I’m sure that was meant to be louder, but I wouldn’t listen regardless. I ran as best as I could. My legs shook and threatened to fall, but I was able to limp to the base of the bridge when a gunshot shot off. My legs had gone so numb that I barely registered that it entered my right calf. My leg crumples.

Peko Pekoyama-

After Ikusaba falls I drop the gun and go attend to Ibuki confident that she isn’t going anywhere soon. I get to the front and unbuckle Ibuki from her seat and guide her down. She doesn’t appear to have many external wounds, a few shallow cuts around her torso and legs. Bruising too probably. I grab her and drag her out of the car and lie her on the ground.

“I- Ibuki can you hear me?” I try shaking her a bit, she doesn’t respond. But after a minute she starts to twitch in her face. She shakes her head and sits up on her elbows. 

She winces and nods, “Yea, Ibuki hears you. Just hurts...”

She lies back down with her eyes open staring at the car, she has a strange look in her eyes, but I don’t say anything. I gently pull her up with me so we’re in a standing position. 

What is the best course of action right now? I know that the car is totaled for sure now. An hour's drive is going to be nearly impossible for us in this condition, not to mention roaming gangs and Ultimate Despair. I and Ibuki both have a concerning number of cuts, not to mention Ikusaba. Normally I would leave her to die, but she does have valuable information. No, we need somewhere to stay and a phone to call Future Foundation with. 

The bridge starts to lower and Ikusaba guns for it, or as best she can. She’s army crawling up it and I follow her with Ibuki slung around me for walking support. We hobble together like we’re in a three-legged race until we get to Ikusaba partway on the bridge as she’s still going. It finally closes the distance and Ikusaba makes an audible gasp.

“No, he didn’t…” Owada was missing from the other side. 

Good, we can find a phone then and medical supplies. There must be a hospital somewhere around here. 

“Would you mind helping pick her up?” I asked nodding to Ikusaba on the ground. Ibuki finally got a look at her and screamed.

“What happened to her?” Ikusaba looked back at us and grimaced. She attempted to move faster but it only worsened the blood trail. I broke off from Ibuki and picked Ikusaba by the arm and nodded over to Ibuki to help. Ibuki muttered a chorus of “gross, gross, gross” as we supported Ikusaba on both sides, though she did try to fight us. She kept struggling and we walked through Kyoto, her legs practically being dragged against the ground.

“Um, Peko, why are we going back in? We just jumped over a bridge to leave,” Ibuki huffed.

“We’re going to find a hospital for bandages and call Chisa.” 

Ikusaba lets out a half grunt, half-laugh, “Are you stupid, the hospital is destroyed there isn’t going to be a phone or bandages anywhere near here.”

“We’ll make due then.”

Mukuro Ikusaba-

They found an apartment building a few dozen meters or so from the bridge that had its first floor intact. Peko grabbed two sheets and tied me to a bedpost and then my legs. A cool breeze was blowing in from the busted wall, but I supposed it’s better than sitting in the snow in January. The rest of the room was a wreck with concrete debris scattered around the room with the far side of the room having a broken-down bed and scratch desk with a radio.

Shortly after “dealing with me” Peko left to find non-existing supplies and a phone. That was about fifty minutes ago. Ibuki was put on watch, which she’s done horribly, and has been messing with every semi-interesting thing in the room. If it wasn’t for my current condition I could have easily overpowered her and left. 

Currently, she sat across from me on the floor messing with a battery radio and one of that Maizono bitch’s cds, “Ugh, take back what I said. I’d rather go deaf than listen to idol pop,” she then chucked the cd out the hole and rummaged around the room for something else to listen to. She tried out a few more CDs then ditched almost as quickly as she found them. During that time I tried to struggle out of my binds to no avail. 

The majority of the wounds stopped bleeding but there was still a throbbing pain all throughout my body. The bullet wound still felt like a fire ripping through my left, but Peko had at least tied a sheet around it to stanch the bleeding. Now sitting I believe there to be a fractured my left arm, it feels numb and looks extremely swollen. I can’t believe I’ve gotten this beaten up after years of no injuries during what was essentially war.

Ibuki, while seeming more sluggish than before, continued to act like we didn’t just get into a car crash, “Did all the people with good taste die or something?” Ibuki asked as she tossed another cd behind her, “I mean, I know not everyone has as great of taste as moi, but seriously Summer Tree? Echk. Oh, what type of music do you like? Better not say orchestra though cuz-”

“Would you shut up?” 

Ibuki squinted at me and abandoned the cd. She hopped up and sat in front of me on the bed pushing her face into mine so that our noses were touching, “Ah, c’mon don’t be like that. I’m just tryin’ to be friendly.”

“And what part of me makes you think that I’m inviting in any way?” I try shaking out of the bounds again and the bed creaks. I pull even harder. 

“I mean, I thought our bond would strengthen after the crash, y'know like survival buddies.” Ibuki looked away bashfully while scratching the back of her head.

“No.”

“Ahh, C’mon.”

“I’m back,” Peko walked through the wall stepping over debris holding a few water bottles and... a cd? 

“I got a hold of Chisa, she said she, Tsumiki, and a few others were going to come to get us. They’ll be here in around half-an-hour or so. Tsumiki’s bringing medical support,” Peko continued. She set down the bag and then seemed to remember the cd, “Oh and Ibuki I know you said you wanted something to listen to.”

She handed the cd to Ibuki and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that she exploded with excitement. She held the cd at arm's length and had the most star-struck expression on her face, as though there were literal stars in her eyes. She then jumped around the bed to Peko while squealing, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” and hug-tackled Peko with her whole body, knocking her back a step. Peko recovered and then returned her hug, a small smile showing on her face.

This one was genuine, I think. It’s hard to describe it, both of them had something I hadn’t seen in a while. 

Ibuki tore away and ran over to the radio and threw out the cd currently sitting in there and turned to us, “This here,” she held up the cd, I could now see that what looked like four girls in a band standing in front of pink fire and what looked like an unholy amount of glitter raining down on them, “Is my debut album ‘Cutie Cherry’ with Black Cherry. And this song is my favorite of this album 'Worrying of Strawberry Lips, ” She pressed play and the sound that came out of the stereo was indescribable.

Ibuki scream-singing around the room when Peko sat next to me, “Do you need some?” She was holding a bottle of water. 

“I can’t take it. I’m tied.”

She sighed, “I’m offering to pour it in your mouth,” she pushed it towards me again. 

I turned away from her, well the best I could, “Yes because I should trust anything my captors give me?”

“If you think I’m being malicious, that’s not my intent. If I wanted you dead I would have already done it.” She took the bottle back and drank it and tossed another at Ibuki who grabbed it without looking up and continued to use it as a faux microphone.

I huffed out a laugh, “So were those bullets just a greeting then?”

“Fine let me rephrase. I don’t want you dead now.” 

“Think I’m going to give you information?” I snide. 

“That was Ibuki’s idea, she said that it would be better to interrogate you than just kill you. That it wouldn’t help us.” 

“How fucking stupid.” I half mutter to myself. Seriously, what self-respecting soldier gives information to the enemy. What an asinine plan. 

Peko bristled and shifted away from me. She seemed to be contemplating something, her brows were furrowed and she looked concentrated. I tried to struggle out again, but all it did was make me sorer. That’s how the next ten minutes went, with nothing new happening until the deafening sound of a helicopter came outside.

  
  


Peko Pekoyama-

“Not only did you two not even go to the mission site, but you two decide to attempt an unplanned attack on Ultimate Despair, then kidnap one of them. Compounded with the fact that we just lost key territory in Hamamatsu and several dead or injured members. Including both of you.” Munakata yelled out his lecture. He was leaning over the table with Chisa Yukizome, Kazuo Tengan, and Koichi Kizakura sitting around him. We were being integrated in the main meeting room with Ibuki and me at the opposite end of the table from the four of them.

After being picked up by the helicopter Mikan treated us the best she could and we flew back to base, then Juzo Sakakura dragged me and Ibuki into a meeting room. Apparently, Mikan also attempted to treat Ikusaba while she was awake at the clinic here, but after kicking her three times they knocked out Ikusaba.

Munakata was still on a rant and Ibuki was looking down at the table and slowly swung in the chair. When her feet started tapping the ground and she started fidgeting with her nails I grabbed her hand. She holds my hand and rubs my nails with her finger and I squeeze her hand. I notice a slight smile on her face.

“Hey!” Munakata snaps, we both look up to, “Do you understand this is grounds for discharge. We cannot and will not tolerate behavior like this.”

“Excuse me sir-” I start.

Chisa interrupted, “Kyosuke, that’s a bit harsh don’t you think. Maybe suspension from missions or supervision, but full discharge?”

“Yukizome this is serious-”

“Sir,” I continue, “I understand not trusting us to do fieldwork, but if you send us out there, we’ll surely be dead. We can do any work needed around here.”

Munakata blistered, “Pekoyama your not in any position to negotiate-”

Tengan put his hand out in front of Munakata and stood, “I agree with Yukizome, I don’t think discharge is necessary.”

“But Sir-”

“No, I think for now the two of them should be put on suspension. We can discuss further punishment later,” Tengan paused and looked at the two of us, his eyes had something akin to sadness, but not that. Disappointment is more likely a better descriptor, “For now we should let the both of them rest. Sakakura could you escort them back to their room?”

Munakata clenched his jaw but seized arguing and Chisa let out a sigh and relaxed her shoulders. We excused ourselves and walked out the door followed by Sakakura.

The last thing I caught was “Now on the discussion on what we should do with Ikusaba…” from Tengan and “Actually I have an idea I would like to propose,” from Chisa.

  
  


Mukuro Ikusaba-

The cell was quiet.

My arms hurt, not only because of the wounds. It felt like they were wrapped too tightly by the straight jacket and like my lungs were being restricted, that I couldn’t breathe. I tried breathing in deep, it worked. My lungs felt tortured but it worked. I’m still alive. My arms wouldn’t move though. My face felt numb. And I lost the will to move. I tried everything. Nothing worked. Truly to no avail. 

I really am a failure, huh?

Why am I like this, the one thing I was supposed to be good at… I couldn’t even get away from two incompetent teens. Junko I-

“Who'd think you were  _ this  _ pathetic?”

I-

“Mukuro you're doing it wrong! God, it's like trying to teach a dog to shit outside.”

I’m-

“I know we’re  _ supposed  _ to be twins, but you must be some genetic defect. I mean look at your body.”

Such an- 

“Ah, poor Mucky, I heard Makoto’s got the hots for Maizono. I’m not surprised-”

Idiot-

“Of course he didn’t mean what he said, he just being nice to a gross troll-, Why are you being such an utter moron-, Stop being naive and thinking they care-, Mukuro fucking fix this or else-, Would you shut up-, It’s all your fault-, Only thing your good for is protecting me-, Who would crush on a dirty military girl-, I was sooo hurt after you left-, Do you hate me-, I knew it I can’t trust you anymore-, You fuck up-, you worthless bitch-, You're being a whore-, Everyone hates you-, I hate you-”

I’m… I’m sorry… Sorry... I’m so stupid… I’m sorry...Sorry...I’m a….

Idiot.

Idiot. Idiot. Incompetent. Idiot. Ugly. Idiot. Idiot. Worthless. Trashy. Undependable. Idiot. Idi-

“She’s in here,” One of the guards said. The pair walk each other with Yukizome in the middle with some stupid smile on her face. I won’t fall for it.

She walks closer to the bars and bends down sitting on the balls of her. One of the guards puts his hand out but she ignores it, the other trains his gun on me. She masks concern, tilting her head to the side, “Have you been crying?”

“...”

She sighs and nods to one of the guards to open the door. A siren blared off and the cage slowly opened.

They took me on a boat for an indeterminate amount of time. The first thing I realized when I woke up the next morning was the sand. It felt hot under my skin. My clothes had been changed to a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The leg wounds were out and proud and wrapped. There was the distinct smell of salt and a slightly less red-tinted sky in the distance. The call of seagulls rang in my ears as I got my bearings and saw that I was by the sea. 

So that's where they took me.

There wasn’t a boat in sight, and there didn’t appear to be any Future Foundation members nearby. Why did they-

“Hi, my name is Chiaki Nanami. May I ask for yours?”


	3. Isolated Trauma Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mukuro wakes up on an island stuck with Chiaki. Now she needs to find a way out while trying to get Chiaki to leave her alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Blood, old injures, broken nose
> 
> Thank you for reading!

Mukuro Ikusaba-

  
`  
“Hi, my name is Chiaki Nanami. May I ask for yours?”

Right above me was a girl with champagne hair cut in a bob wearing an off white skirt and white button-up with a jacket around her waist. She was holding some sort of hand-held console and had her head tipped to the side. She doesn’t seem like she could be much of a threat, being a few centimeters shorter than me and not appearing to be physically inclined. It should be easy to overtake her.

I tried to stand up and back away from the girl but the cuts still hurt considerably. I took a deep breath and got to my knees and then forced myself up the rest of the way. The headache was gone but my body was still sore and my legs were less steady than normal. I tipped over slightly to the left and stumbled in an attempt to stabilize when Nanami reached out for my arm. I ripped my arm out of her reach, turning to get away from her. But my feet weren’t cooperating and my left leg tripped my right. The ground slipped from under me and I impacted the sand hard on my hip. It started to throb and sand got into the cut on my forehead. 

“I didn’t mean to frighten you, do you need help?” Nanami squatted and offered a hand putting it in my face. She had her eyebrows knitted together and her eyes were downcast looking over my body. Like she was looking down on me. Pity perhaps. She probably thought I was a klutzy mess. I didn’t need that.

I swatted her hand away and scooted backward far enough so that she was a few meters away. I hoisted myself up with the help of a palm tree and leaned against it for a moment to calm the pain. Nanami sluggishly moved towards me, but my head automatically snapped towards her, “Stay back!” I barked. 

She put her hands up and her eyes widened, “I’m not an enemy, I-”

“Don’t care. I don’t need help from anyone, especially someone from Future Foundation,” I pushed off from the palm tree and limped off the beach, my right leg still feeling numb and was dragging a bit behind the rest of me. I checked back and Nanami still stood there, now she was pouting and she wrapped her arms around her torso. The sound of waves crashing became softer as I left the beach.

  
Later that night I had been in the kitchen making fried salmon as I weighed the situation at hand. I was still ignoring Nanami for the most part. She left me alone aside from the few attempts to start a conversation, but a glare tended to do the trick. What the hell Future Foundation thought they were going to gain by locking me here with someone as meek as Nanami? 

Besides the questions surrounding Future Foundation and their plans, there was also the strange nature of the islands and of how to get off. It seemed all six islands were uninhabited aside for Nanami and me. This was despite the fact there being numerous buildings and stories, not to mention everything was functioning. Additionally, there had been a series of cabins that were part of a hotel, I chose one second from the main boardwalk, Nanami took the cabin next to it, closest to the boardwalk.

Also while roaming around I found that there were planes, though none had engines and I didn’t have any knowledge of how to fly one. Same with the attack helicopters and other military vehicles that I found, though there was a nice arrangement of guns and arm knives.

It looked near impossible to leave.

It was then that I noticed that there was grey smoke rising from the stove. Then a fire alarm started blaring. The room started to fill with smoke, and I coughed through it. I went into reaction mode. I shoved the salmon off the burner and turned the knob to off while I threw open the windows and aired the smoke out. Next, racing for the broom next to the refrigerator. I swatted the smoke away from the fire detector, it eventually stopped beeping.

I rested against the counter and calmed myself down. I checked the salmon and it would be charitable to say it was burnt to a crisp. This would need to be dealt with. I went to throw it away when a small voice whispered, “See what happens when you're on your own. You can’t even cook basic fried salmon.”

“God why am I such fucking idiotic disappointment-”

Then there was a creak at the door. 

Nanami was standing at the entrance and tilted her head, “Are you okay? It looks like-”

“Get away,” I mumbled.

“Huh?”

“I said get away!” I slammed the burnt salmon into the trash can. Of course, she’s here. Why wouldn’t she be, just to see me at a bad point. I feel a bit of trembling in my legs and I don’t think it’s from the wounds. 

“You just seem up-”

“I don’t care! I don’t need help or pity!” Nanami instead of cowering looks confused she mouths the word ‘pity’ and moves closer to me. I step back.

She put her hands up, “Okay, I won’t help. But if you need someone to listen, I could do that. Or at least try.” 

She doesn’t get it does she. I maneuvered around her and walked out of the door back to my room.

  
I hadn’t seen Nanami for the duration of that night and anytime after I ran into her the preceding week I left as quickly as possible. She always had a sad look in her eyes, but it never deterred her from trying the next day. By this point I had gotten so annoyed I had stocked up on supplies and hunker down in my room. I hadn’t been out in three days and it was mostly a success. Nanami on the first day kept trying to get me to come out and left me food for lunch and dinner, but of course, I wasn’t going to eat that. Eventually, she left a note that she slipped under my door reading ‘Sorry for intruding in your personal issues. If by chance you are willing to talk I’m here to talk. Chiaki.’

I crumpled it up and left it by her door at night time. 

For those three days, I plotted a way off the island. My best plan at the moment was to make a raft, and hope for the best, I could get a rope, a tarp, supplies, and a hatchet from the supermarket and I stashed an army knife in my waistband. I would get out of here, grab what was necessary from the store, and start construction of the raft. If all goes well I’ll be off by daybreak. 

Hopefully, she would continue to leave me alone and wouldn't notice me leaving the room. I had wasted enough time here, nearly a week and a half. I needed to get off and back to land. Then I could take the beating and get back to work.

Junko probably was revealing in the despair of the situation, she always said that me dying would bring here an immense amount of despair, close to when she killed Matsuda. I know that is all she ever wanted, but we are nowhere near complete in destroying the world. Once that is over I don’t care anymore but until then…

I opened the front door and checked outside. The cool air hit my face and cicadas chirped around the building. It didn’t look like Nanami was outside, but when I was about to lock the door a creaking door came from the next door. Of course, she going to be out now, why can’t I catch a fucking break?

Digital music played while there was the sound of clicking buttons followed by creaking wood. I ran back inside and decided to wait her out. But because the world hated me she was walking exceedingly slow. She stopped randomly at what I assume was to be the middle of the boardwalk and stood there. 

Did she figure me out? Was she waiting for me to make a move?  
I snuck out of my back door onto the patio to get a look at what she was doing. She was next to my cabin on the ground, leaned over a hand-held console, her feet hanging off the boardwalk. She was facing me and her shoulders were tense, staring intently at the console. It made a few more beeping sounds then a “victorious” song played. Sighing as she threw her head back and looked up, I swung around the corner and laid against the wall. Soon thereafter came a knock, a mutter, then more music. 

My legs started to tremble a bit, they might give out but this problem wasn’t going to go away. I steeled my nerves and went back to check on her one more time. She was still sitting there, not noticing me. I could work with this.

I stuck out my hand, she didn’t even lookup. I waved it back and forth and again nothing just kept playing.

I stepped out and walked over to the edge of the patio. There was a small gap between the patio and the next one over. Below was inky black water that surrounded the cabins. My room was the second away from the boardwalk, I could cross the gap to Nanami’s patio and then sneak past her without her noticing. 

I went over to the wooden railing and flung my legs over it. The wobbling in my right leg grew worse. I reached for the Nanami’s railing while holding on to one behind me. My fingers brush it. I clench my teeth, breathe, and get on my tiptoes letting go of the railing behind me. My feet were less stable but I think I can get it. I took a leap of faith and leaned over the gap and was able to grab it. I relax a bit. Okay, now I just need to grab it with my oth-

My toes slipped.

My nose smashed into Nanami’s patio. Pain shot through my head and my body, a gush of blood ran down my face. Then I splashed face-first into the water. I swallowed a mouthful of water and choked it up once I resurfaced. The water was like ice seeping into my skin. It numbed my body to the point where I could barely feel the pain or much of anything.

A flurry of steps came as a shocked, “What happened?” was breathed from Nanami. I struggled to swim, but my body was already too tired. I shouldn’t have done this. I’m so-

“Quick, grab this,” a pink sheet was thrown down. My brain froze and stared at it. What did she think was going to help if it’s in the water. My brain blinked out as I could only focus on the freezing temperature when Nanami broke through, “Hey, can you hear me? Grab it I’ll pull you up.”

Oh… I grabbed the sheet with both hands. The sheet tugged up and I shivered even worse than before. It was like ice was being blown through my clothes. My teeth started to clatter and I couldn’t focus on anything else. 

A warm hand clasped over one of mine. It snapped me out of my daze. Nanami was half over the rail, one hand holding up the sheet tied to the rail and the other on mine. She was breathing heavy and her mouth was agape, “Hey, can you hear me?”, I nodded, “Okay, I’m not very strong. Can you pull yourself up?”

I climb up the sheet until I can get a footing on the patio, then Nanami hauled me over the railing. We both landed on the patio and I coughed up the water, Nanami tried to control her breathing into a more regular pattern.

“Do you need help,” She was over top of me, a hand hovering behind my back. I shake my head. Nanami hums and opts to lay next to me waiting for me to stop sputtering.

The patio is stained with my puked up water and river of blood from my nose, but I didn’t care, my body gave out and I just laid there waiting to regain my energy to go back into my room. My vision blurred a bit and I felt like I was on the verge of blacking out when Nanami spoke again, “Can I touch your arm?”

I blinked and saw now that she was standing hunched over with her hand extended, “Why?”

“So I can bring you in my room and check your nose and rebandage your other injuries,” she kept like that, just waiting for me to accept.

I pushed myself up slightly and winced, “I can do it myself. This isn’t anything I can’t handle.”

“No,” Nanami looked at me with an intensity I hadn’t seen in her before, she kneeled and balled her fist. Her cheeks were puffed and she huffed out, “Your health bar is running so low that you’re eventually going to hurt yourself bad. I just think it’s best if you let me help you. I don’t know a lot about caring for injuries, but I can figure it out, I think. No, I’m sure”

“Why sh-” I coughed, “should I trust you?”

The look in her eyes calmed a bit and a soft smile replaced it, “We’re in the same position, yeah? I know you said something about a Future Foundation, but I don’t know anything about that. I want off as much as you and if we get you healed up, then we can find a way out together. I mean we can’t beat the level if half the party is in critical condition. At least that’s how I see it.”

She sat down now, still smiling, with a shining light in her eyes. It's something bright and happy like anything is a possibility. Like she actually cares about me to some small extent. Something that sincere, not easily faked as I thought earlier. Hope possibly. Naivety probably. But maybe hope and despair aren’t so different, maybe I can just believe in it for now. See where it takes me.

“Fine.”

Any trace of fear or doubt melted away and Nanami said, “Thank you for trusting me.”

She stood up and offered a hand, “No, I’ll walk. Where too?”

“My room is fine, I’ll go to the pharmacy and get everything,” she opened the patio door and waited for me to stumble in and land on the bed. I was absorbed into it and had to fight not to be sucked in too deep. Nanami let out a light laugh while at the door, “I’ll be back soon okay?” She closed the door. 

The room was in stark contrast to mine, littered with different consoles and a tv at the center of it. There were video games stacked around the room on shelves like one would have books. It seemed extremely disorganized, but the type of disorganization that the owner knew where everything was. 

After a bit, Nanami snuck back in with a shopping basket full of medical supplies. She set it down at the foot of the bed and rolled her computer chair next to the bed. She dug around the basket and pulled out the gauze, medical tape, and a washcloth, “I should probably get this wet.” Nanami took the washcloth into the bathroom. After seeing the basket there was a deeply unsettling feeling in my chest, it was constricting.

Calm down okay, you're not going to be hurt. Even if she tried anything you could easily take her down. I repeated in my head like a mantra, I tried to steady my breathing and ignore the pit in my stomach telling me I was making a mistake. 

The bathroom door slid open and Nanami took her seat again. She came at me with the washcloth then paused, “Can I touch your face with the washcloth?” 

I took a few more deep breaths and opened my eyes, “Yes, you can.”

“Can I ask what your name is before we start?”

“Why do you need to know?” 

She smiled at me and began dabbing the cool washcloth down my upper lip and chin, “We’re party members remember. So I think it would strengthen our bonds to know each other better.” 

Stupid video game reference aside she right. I sighed and turned my head towards her, though I avoided eye contact, “Ikusaba.”

“Huh?” she looked caught off guard.

I swallowed and repeated, “Mukuro Ikusaba, that’s my name. Just call me Ikusaba though.”

“Oh,” her shock transformed back into her calm smile, “Okay Ikusaba.”

Nanami continued humming some melody. After the blood was washed away she asked, “Now I’m going to touch your nose to see how bad it is, is that okay?” 

“Yes.” Nanami took her pointer finger and prodded my nose along the bridge. Pain flared up and I winced, turning my head away from her.

“Do I need to stop?” 

I shifted back towards her, “No, I can deal with it. It was just a reflex.”

She went back to prodding, somehow even more gentle than before. After she took gauze from the pile next to her and waded it up in a small ball, “It looks like the nose isn’t crooked so just stopping the bleeding and ice should do it, I think.” She moved the gauze ball towards my face, “Can I put this in your nose?”

“Yes.”

She lifted my left nostril and the gauze ball entered. It stretched out my nose and made me feel like I needed to sneeze, but I resisted the urge. She did the same to my right nostril. Afterward, she put a bag of ice on the bridge of my nose and continued to dig in the basket.

“Where are all your other injuries?” She dug out a few rolls of ace bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and Neosporin.

“Arms, legs, head…. And torso.”

“Would you be okay with me looking at all of them or just some?” 

I looked at her, “I can do the torso myself, you can touch the other if you must.”

“Okay, is Neosporin okay to use, or are you allergic?”

“It should be fine.” 

“Okay.”

Nanami rolled the chair to the foot of the bed, shoving the basket over with her foot. She took the edge of the first bandage and unraveled it up my left leg. As the bandage fell away my wounds were laid bare and looked admittedly a bit ugly and angry. Some of them healed, but others looked like they had reopened and were bleeding slightly. Nanami winced and looked at me with a questioning look.

“I worked in the military,” I stated without further explanation. Nanami didn’t mind as she turned back and poured the hydrogen peroxide on the cuts. It seeped into the cuts and stung, but I held back my wipers. 

Nanami seemed to notice and gave out a quick, “Sorry it hurts,” before wiping away the excess and going to the next area of cuts. She was mechanical in her application. This was the most aware and serious I’ve seen her since we first got here. She finished up the next series of cuts then interrupted the silence, “Did you ever do strategy meetings with little figures, or maybe play simulation military games?”

“No, I was a foot soldier, I never made decisions nor needed flight training,” I hissed after more peroxide was spilled on my leg. 

Nanami hummed at my answer and was staring off while she continued to work on my leg. Eventually, she made her mind up, “Well maybe we can play some strategy game together. I’ve played a few that have a modern war setting. You’ll like those, probably.” She took the tube of Neosporin and rubbed it into the cuts. 

Would I like video games even? I’ve never played any and I would probably be horrible at them. I’m only good at physical things. But it seemed like Nanami was trying to be open and find a common interest that we can do to build comradery. And we definitely can’t train, for now. Working on strategy might not be a bad idea. Maybe I can humor her.

“I haven’t played video games before,” I warn. 

Nanami shrugs me off, “Anyone can learn. And it’s never too late to start being a gamer,” I give a hum as a response and she understands that the conversation is over. Quiet took over as she finished with the tube of Neosporin and rebandaged my left leg. She goes through the same motions with my right leg and both arms, until all bandages have been changed. 

“That should be it, are you feeling better?” Nanami packed all the supplies back into the basket and threw the empty ones in the trash can. 

“A bit, I’ll be fine though.” 

I stood from the bed and stiffly walked to the door. Nanami handed me the basket after I crossed the threshold, “I hope you have a goodnight and don’t forget to treat the rest of your injuries.” 

I nodded then turned back to my cabin, not quite realizing the change that was to come.


	4. Suppressed Damaged Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peko and Ibuki meet up with Kazuichi and Mikan after the meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been a hot second. I had things to do so I couldn't update and I'm going to start college soon so that's always fun. I'll be updating when I can, so enjoy!

Peko Pekoyama-

Honestly, the meeting went better than expected, but Ibuki seems to be having a mini-mental breakdown as Sakakura led us back to our shared room. I’d be lying if I said that I was okay with this though. I had really missed being outside of these steel walls and wanted to continue to actively work on defeating Ultimate Despair. But I should be glad that they’re not throwing us out, yet. 

Ibuki was toying with the edge of her shirt and trying not to make eye contact with everyone that passed by us. There was gawking and glares, but all shared a similar sense of “what the hell were you thinking” in their stares. It was like a walk of shame to top off today. 

We got to the door and Sakakura narrowed his eyes as we entered the room, “No leaving without express permission. You’ll be monitored until further notice and when a decision has been made on your punishment, you’ll both be informed,” Sakakura explained in a monotone voice. Ibuki was curled on the bed while I was standing in the doorway for him to leave. His teeth were clenched and he seemed to be debating whether or not to speak again.

“Is that all?”

He looked me in the eyes for a beat then sighed, relaxing his shoulders, “Not making any promises, but it should all blow over if you two bahave. Munakata...” he paused, “I don’t think he’d throw you two out for something like this.”

Sakakura turned to leave when I asked, “Would you support him if he did?”

He stiffened and turned his head slightly to look back at me. His eyes looked set, not a trace of remorse was seen when he said, “If Munakata thinks it best, then yes. I will support him in any way possible.” I wasn’t angry at that response. Actually, I think at that moment I came to understand him on a deeper level. And if that was his path then I would respect it. Because I knew that I could never criticize him for that. But that doesn’t mean I won’t fight against him, I would and will do anything to keep the rest of us alive and relatively safe. That’s my only goal now.

It did nothing to calm Ibuki’s nerves, she was staring off into nothing, her back stiff. I sat next to her on the bed and held her hand, “You heard Yukizome they’re not going to throw us out.”

She didn’t look over but she did shake her head slightly, “That’s not what Ibuki’s worried about. Not all of it. We screwed up bad. We killed people-”

“We didn’t kill anyone,” I interjected. Ibuki opened her mouth to argue, but I cut her off again, “You’re right we made a mistake, but we didn’t murder them. And you have to move on. This is war and war involves death, sometimes preventable, but a lot of the time not.” 

Ibuki shakes her head again and looks down at her knees, “No Peko, we did. And… I don’t know! I never felt like this. But I can’t pretend like it didn’t happen or that they don’t matter like an extra in an action movie. I feel a deep hole sucking inside me, I just- just don’t know how to deal with it.”

“I know, we just can’t focus on that for now. We can deal with our emotions and guilt later. That’s the only way to live through this.”

She hugged her knees tighter but shifted her head towards me and a ghost of a smile showed on her lips, “I don’t know if I can do that, but Ibuki will figure it out.”

The door bursts open with a loud bang followed by Tsumiki muttering for Soda to calm down. Soda throws off his black beanie and a sack onto the upper bunk bed across from us and launched into the bottom bunk, “So glad I’m back. They had me check every tank. All of them! Can you believe that Mikan? It’s insane. And that’s not even the worse part.”

“Um I get that, but… c-could you get off m-my bed?” She stuttered outstanding at the edge stroking a bright purple bruise on her arm.

“Huh, I didn’t think you were so territorial.”

Tsumiki balled her fist and shook her head, “It’s not that, just yo-you’re getting oil all over my bed,” Soda raised his brow and Tsumiki panicked, “S-sorry I didn’t mean to ca-cause you trouble. Don’t hate me.” 

Soda raised himself up and saw a splatter of oil all over the sheets. He rolled off the bed onto his feet and patted Tsumiki on the shoulder, “Hey, don’t sweat it,” I gave him a pointed look, “Or wait… No, I'm sorry for getting oil on the bed. I’ll change the sheets”

Tsumiki wiped her eyes, “You don’t need to do that. I-”

“Why are you so greasy anyway. You’re practically as oily as an eel, or maybe it’s a snake?” Ibuki cut in, seeming to try and distract herself. Kazuichi snapped his attention towards us and scratched the back of his head.

“I was checking on the vehicles out in Nara, y’know for like defects and stuff. But whoever is supplying us did a horrendous job. I haven’t seen engine models like that since a world war II tank book,” Soda laughed a bit before he stripped the sheets, “But I was able to sneak out for a moment and found this…”

From the bag, he took out three bottles of hair dye, one neon pink and two blue. Ibuki sprang from the bed and snatched the bottles from Soda’s hands inspecting them as though it was a sword. She turned around and hugged Soda, “Thank you,” Soda fell backward after Ibuki ran over to Tsumiki, “Let’s dye our hair,” she proposed before dragging her into the bathroom.

I spared a small smile to the bathroom door when Soda got his footing. He coughed awkwardly, “Sooo…” he looked conflicted like he was trying to find the best way to phrase something. Soda in the time that I’ve known him has been fairly impulsive and quick to speak, even after Sonia and Tanka’s deaths. Those hit him the worse I think, he never quite recovered fully, he was more prone to long stretches of staring and quiet. Ibuki normally can get him out of his daze, but I don’t think this is one of those situations. I wonder if he heard already.“Um… So you two are being thrown out.” 

He wasn’t quite looking at me, more so just past my head at the steel that decorated our wall. He flicked his fingers, his pinky with his thumb on his left hand. A nervous tick. I’ve seen it several times throughout that month in the school. It’s decreased since, but sometimes at night after I can hear nails clicking together. I sighed, “They considered that option, but most likely we’ll just be under supervision until further notice,” Soda nods and leans against the wall again. 

“Well trapped here is better than that, hehehe…” Soda's laugh dissipated and sighed, “I would love to be under watch. Just tinker all day. No battle zones, roaming gangs, Ultimate Despair...We were attacked while in Nara. When we were leaving no less. We were ambushed and there were only two agents and me.” 

“Are you injured?”

“Nah,” Soda shook his head, “ I just-just don’t want to do any of this…”

I understood what he was saying, but a part of me was sneering at the childish nature of his remarks. You are confronted with the situation, assess it, then deal with it. Don’t worry, don’t think, don’t dwe-

“Peko, this is my final demand… no wish, for you to-”

I shook my head, knocking the memory out with it. Don’t worry, don’t think, don’t dwell. I of course wasn’t going to be antagonistic, so I just listened to the banter coming from Ibuki and Tsumiki. Soda had resigned himself to taking apart a clock ( or used to be a clock I’m not sure what it is anymore) on the floor with the tool kit he hid under the bunk bed. Apparently, it is dangerous to have anything “weapon-like” in the dorms so Soda has been sneaking in tools via his jumpsuit and adding to his collection. 

A knock at the door startles Soda out of his concentration followed by Yukizome’s voice, “Kazuichi, Mikan? You are needed for a meeting.”

Soda throws his tools plus half a clock under the bed and stands up against a wall. He leans against it like he’s been talking to me, “Oh come in.” 

Yukizome pushes open the door, there's no locks, and nods to me, “Hello Peko.”

“Yukizome.”

She turns her attention to Soda and motions for him, “We’re holding a meeting that might involve you and possibly Mikan flying out to Towa in a few months. As far as I know, it’s for a preliminary check on the air purifies before they're sent out,” She pauses and scans the room seemingly confused by the lack of Tsumiki and Ibuki, “Where are Mikan and Ibuki?”

“Bathroom together,” Soda answered as he exited the room. 

Slight sounds of running water could be heard and Yukizome’s eyes widen then averted her eyes and when she turned she said, “Just inform her to come to the East wing, room 100-b. Thank you” 

Makoto Naegi- 

Owada and I had been staying in Kyoto for the past three days searching for Mukuro or her corpse. I tried to ignore that nagging feeling. That she was actually dead. But there was nobody found at the crash site and there was a trail of blood. Though that is hardly evidence that it’s hers, or that Mukuro wasn’t dumped somewhere else, or that if she did live that she wasn’t being tortured. There was no way to tell. 

Today was our meeting with the others, virtual of course, with Owada worrying about how to explain to Enoshima that he might have gotten her sister killed. I tried to think of the ways she could react and how I should respond. I had thought of violent outrage, a river of tears, dead apathy, but the most likely and the one that disgusted me the most was what she went with.

“Uphuphuphu… How horrible, my own twin sister dead. I haven’t felt like this in so long~” She was half laughed, half-sung out. The rest looked vaguely bored, Owada was sighing in relief next to me. I saw a flash of concern, maybe, across several faces. But they were thinking about themself rather than the safety of Mukuro. What the Future Foundation was capable of, especially if they could get someone like Mukuro. Someone so strong and forceful and determined.

They didn’t care for her. How it felt when she realized that they were going over the bridge when she knew she was going to die. How her beating heart felt. How she was thinking of how to save herself. How it felt on first impact. Did she die instantly or was it slow? Did she bleed out? What did she look like when she died?

The smallest smile crept up on my face when I was knocked by Owada. Apparently, they had moved on to Towa. Apparently, Kirigiri had information that Future Foundation was suspicious of Towa Group and planning on investigating and at worse tearing down Towa Group. There was a discussion on the best course of action, but I wasn’t listening. I could frankly care less.

“Sounds legit. Hagakure out,” Hagakure signed out like an idiot. He was stationed in Towa, so he probably took this as his time to leave. The meeting continued to drag, but Enoshima became bored rather quickly and left after a few minutes of hearing everyone's progress. Togami tried to keep it going but one after another we all left. 

After the screen went black and my sorrowful reflection was staring back at me, Owada stood from the chair and left without saying a word. A few minutes later an engine started and I was left by myself. 

Eventually, I pulled myself from the chair and wandered outside. I traced the steps the Owada took when Mukuro had been grabbed following all the way to the wreckage. The buildings were all a bleak grey that bleed into the sky. My vision was hazy, but I had walked the path enough to know my way. By the time I reached the bridge a fresh layer of snow covered the car and the blood trail. There was nothing new. No other clues or hints. 

I was wasting my time. I decided to head back before I froze half to death. On the way back there was a half-destroyed building a short distance from the bridge. There was a hole busted in from on the side and debris laying all around it. It looked no different from any other building in this town. Nothing special about it, but I went in anyway. 

Inside was a grey as anywhere else with the added splash of color from the CDs scattered around. Over to the right was a bed with sheets tied around it. Strange. But that wasn’t what truly caught my attention. A few feet from the bed was a gun, the one Mukuro had when she was kidnapped, on the ground next to the bed.

_Mukuro._


End file.
